Journey to the West: Beginning with the Apprenticeship of Bodhi Patriarch

Chapter 62 Guarding the Mountain
It is said that one day, at the scenic Lingshan Mountain, one could see 'auspicious mist covering the Lingshan Mountain and rainbow light embracing Maitreya'.

Maitreya Bodhisattva came from the Three Stars Immortal Cave, walking and stopping, sometimes practicing, sometimes meditating. Now accompanied by infinite light, he returned to Lingshan to meet the Tathagata, clasped his hands and said: "World Honored One."

The Tathagata said, "Maitreya Bodhisattva, how is the Dharma that has come to the East?"

Maitreya Bodhisattva said: "Buddha, this method is very profound. I have not yet mastered it. I will just take a peek at the beginning."

The Tathagata asked, "What is this new Buddha Dharma?"

Maitreya Bodhisattva smiled and said, "Buddha, does the Buddha have two dharmas?"

The Tathagata said: "Buddha has no two Dharmas. My Dharma is the Buddha Dharma, and Zen Dharma is also the Buddha Dharma."

Maitreya Bodhisattva clasped his hands and said, "World Honored One? I followed Master Guangxin to practice Zen, but I know that Zen does not require practice or scriptures. This method does not rely on words, but directly points to the original mind, and one can become a Buddha by seeing the nature. There are no scriptures to read, and no methods to practice. Everyone has the nature of awareness, and one can become a Buddha by gaining the nature of awareness. I have realized that 'Buddha is the mind and the mind is Buddha', and I know the way."

The Tathagata pondered for a long time and said, "Everyone has consciousness, everyone is a Buddha, this is the highest Dharma."

Maitreya Bodhisattva said: "The Zen method is finally accomplished in a few moments."

The Tathagata said, "This is the Dharma. Maitreya Bodhisattva, what do you think of the broad mind of Bodhi's disciple?"

Maitreya Bodhisattva replied: "Master Guangxin has received the true teachings from Brother Bodhi. The three schools are in harmony. There is absolutely no distinction between Buddhism and Taoism in my heart. I only practice with one heart and attain the Tao as soon as possible."

Tathagata asked, "Have you ever invited me with your lotus platform?"

Maitreya Bodhisattva nodded and said, "May I be granted a great position and a righteous fruit."

The Tathagata said, "Since there is no law of affinity, forget it, forget it! Do you think this boy can achieve the right path?"

Maitreya Bodhisattva smiled and said, "It already looks like an immortal."

……

Three Stars Cave.

Jiang Tong'er had been training here for over a hundred years. When he came out again, everything had changed. Many of the disciples in the cave had left, and there were many new faces. I don't know how many generations had passed from the human world.

He went into the quiet room to pay homage to the master.

Jiang Yuan bowed and said, "Master, I have succeeded in my cooking today!"

The master sat cross-legged on the futon and said with a smile, "I knew you would succeed. Get up, get up!"

Jiang Yuan smiled and asked: "Master, how could you have expected me to succeed? Cooking is really dangerous."

The master took out the ruler and pointed at Jiang Yuan, saying: "You are a boy, you have gone through so many difficulties, how can you not succeed in cooking? You are calm and not anxious, and you have the appearance of an immortal. I will definitely teach you to succeed."

Jiang Yuan was not afraid of the ruler, and said with a smile: "Master, since you praise me like this, aren't you afraid that I will become spoiled and ruin my practice?"

The master tapped Jiang Tong'er's head with a ruler. I don't know what magic he had in his hand, but he tapped lightly and hit hard. The boy held his head and cried out in pain. Unexpectedly, the master's ruler hit him lightly and hard at the same time, just as he wanted.

The master laughed and scolded, "You have been practicing with me for hundreds of years. If you have lost your mind and character, how can you still practice the golden elixir path?"

The boy said, "Master, I know I was wrong! I feel something in my heart and I am not far from achieving the elixir."

The master said: "The remaining three steps are to warm and nourish, copulate, and transform into a golden elixir. Whether these three steps are difficult or easy depends on your fate."

Jiang Yuan said: "My disciple has always been honest, I will definitely be able to succeed."

The master was at a loss whether to laugh or cry: "What does this have to do with your honesty? Stop talking nonsense, why don't you take a break or take a rest?"

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Of course, take a break and listen to Master's lecture on the great principles."

The master nodded and said, "In that case, you can take a rest and don't disturb my peace. Go, go, go!"

Jiang Yuan had no choice but to leave.

The boy came out of the quiet room, but did not go back to his room. Instead, he went to the Yaotai to see what Zhenjian was like.

As he walked out, he heard a commotion ahead of him. He thought the sound came from under an old cypress tree, so he walked towards the source of the sound.

Not long after, Jiang Yuan approached and saw that it was a group of people giving a lecture under the old cypress tree. He did not recognize these people and thought they must be his new disciples.

He looked carefully and saw Zhenjian was speaking in front of the crowd. He walked over. Zhenjian saw the person coming and hurriedly checked himself and bowed, saying, "Big Brother!"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this. They had heard that there was a Taoist master in Sanxing Immortal Cave. Now that they saw Jiang Yuan, everyone straightened their clothes and stepped forward, "Master brother!"

Jiang Yuan said, "My fellow disciples, there is no need to be polite. What are you talking about here?"

The crowd said, "To be honest with you, Senior Brother, we are here to talk about the Dao of the 'Movement' Sect that Master talked about in the early years. I really see that you have insight, so you are here to talk to us, and there will be no noise from outsiders."

Jiang Yuan said with a smile: "Don't be alarmed, fellow apprentices. I am not blaming you. I just came to take a look because I saw you were going to talk about it. I am not trying to be a 'six-eared'."

Everyone said, "Please invite the eldest brother to come."

The crowd then separated and wanted to make room for the good seat under the old cypress tree, but the boy waved his hand and sat down on a random cushion.

Jiang Yuan asked, "My fellow disciples, I have been practicing diligently for many years and rarely go out, so I don't know what year or month it is now. I don't know what generation name you are in when you join the sect."

The crowd answered: "It is a 'Hai' generation."

The twelve generation names of the Patriarch's disciples are "vast wisdom, true sea of ​​nature, enlightened and perfect awakening". The current generation is "Hai", the eighth youngest generation.

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "Please help me solve my doubts, fellow apprentices."

The crowd said: "Don't dare, don't dare!"

Jiang Yuan did not make any gesture, just let Zhenjian talk and he would listen.

See and hear the true words, and talk with the public.

Jiang Yuan listened and made some comments in his mind. Although Zhenjian hurt his foundation, he had been practicing with peace of mind over the years and had shown some style.

After Zhenjian finished speaking, it was the turn of the crowd to speak. After everyone had finished speaking, he left and returned to the quiet room to rest.

……

Before I knew it, three years had passed.

Jiang Tong'er was meditating in the room, and apart from listening to the master's lectures, he had nothing else to do.

During this day, Jiang Yuan was sitting cross-legged on a cushion when he suddenly heard a voice.

"Tong'er, come here."

Upon hearing this, the boy pushed open the door and went to the master's quiet room.

He walked into the master's quiet room and saw that the master seemed to have just returned from the Sanxing Immortal Cave and had just sat down on the cushion.

Jiang Yuan bowed and said, "Master."

The master said, "There is something going on here that requires you to go there once, or it will take a year before you can come back."

Jiang Yuan said: "It's up to the master's orders."

The ancestor said, "Zhen Yuanzi sent someone to invite you. He told you to go to the Southern Continent. The Wanshou Mountain needs someone with magical powers to guard it. You can go there."

Jiang Yuan heard this and said, not understanding what it meant: "Master, there must be a disciple under the tutelage of the great immortal Zhen Yuanzi who cannot defend Wanshou Mountain?"

The master said: "All the disciples of Zhen Yuanzi came here together. The remaining two or three disciples do not have much magical power. There are many demonic obstacles in Xiniu Hezhou. If there is no powerful guardian of the mountain, there will be chaos."

Jiang Yuan Fang Ming, just like when the ancestor was invited to attend the Dharma Assembly at Lingshan Scenic Spot in the past, many demons came from Lingtai Fangcun Mountain, and he killed them with the Yu Ding. He replied: "Master, I will go to Wanshou Mountain now."

The ancestor shook his head and said, "Don't worry, I will teach you the fifth step of Dan Dao, 'Nourishment'."

Jiang Yuan asked: "Master, now that I am going to Wanshou Mountain, how can I have time to practice?"

The master said: "This step of 'nurturing' is different. It is like a water-grinding effort, but you are practicing while guarding the mountain."

Jiang Yuan suddenly realized it and asked the master to teach him...

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(End of this chapter)